My Maid is Cute Chapter 66 : Confession (Patreon)

*Confession*

In the morning, while Rebecca was getting ready for work, someone knocked on her door. When she opened it, a maid she had never spoken to before was standing there. For a moment, she tilted her head, wondering who it was, but she remembered immediately. She was the maid who had come to the warehouse looking for Lisette.

She bowed lightly and introduced herself. Apparently, she was Lisette's personal maid.

"This is a message from Lady Lisette. Regarding the promise she mentioned, she asks if this afternoon would be convenient for you..."

"Ah..."

The promise must refer to the talk Lisette proposed in the warehouse. If she spoke to the head maid and Wendy, it would probably be possible to slip away from work in the afternoon. Thinking this, Rebecca replied immediately.

"I think that will be fine."

"In that case, I will guide you to Lady Lisette's room this afternoon."

Lisette's personal maid bowed lightly once more and left.

***

As she had thought, she easily obtained permission from the head maid. Next, she headed to Wendy's room and explained that she had been invited to a tea party by Lisette. At this, Wendy's eyebrow twitched.

"...Sister Lisette did?"

"Y-Yes. Um, would it be alright if I stepped away from work this afternoon?"

When Rebecca asked hesitantly, Wendy looked contemplative for a moment, but then said,

"...I see. Understood. Have a good time."

Rebecca was relieved by her permission.

"Why were you invited?"

Since Wendy continued to ask, Rebecca answered while tilting her head.

"Eh? Um, she said she had something to discuss..."

"...I see."

Wendy muttered shortly.

"Do you speak often with Lady Lisette, Milady?"

At Rebecca's question, Wendy replied with a complicated expression for some reason.

"...Not really. I'm not good at talking to people. And while I'm in this mansion, I rarely leave this room."

"Ah, ahh, that's true..."

Receiving the expected answer, Rebecca smiled wryly. However,

"But... she is gentle and kind... a good person."

Because Wendy said that, Rebecca opened her eyes wide. It was quite rare for Wendy to speak of others like that.

"Is, is that so..."

"Becca, if you feel anxious going alone, shall I go with you? If I talk to Sister-in-law, I'm sure she'll agree..."

"Eh!? No, it's fine!! I couldn't possibly trouble you, Milady."

At Wendy's proposal, Rebecca hurriedly shook her head. Wendy looked a little disappointed.

***

When afternoon came, Lisette's personal maid came to Rebecca.

"Lady Lisette is waiting in her room."

"Ah, yes!"

Rebecca hurriedly informed the surrounding servants that she was leaving work and followed the maid to Lisette's room.

With a stiff expression from nervousness, she stepped into the room she was guided to. Lisette was waiting on the sofa set in the middle of the room.

"Rebecca-san, thank you for coming."

"I-I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"Not at all. Here, please have a seat."

Prompted, she sat down on the sofa facing Lisette. While Rebecca fidgeted, the maid prepared tea and sweets and placed them on the table.

"Here, please."

"Ah, yes..."

"Do you like sweets?"

"Yes, thank you very much..."

Feeling stiff as a board, she tasted the tea and cake. Lisette watched Rebecca intently.

"U-Um, Lady Lisette. About the discussion..."

unable to bear the gaze, Rebecca broached the subject. Lisette hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth.

"—I have to apologize to you, Rebecca-san."

"Huh?"

Rebecca let out a strange voice involuntarily. She looked back at Lisette blankly.

"Apologize?"

"Yes."

Lisette clenched her fists tightly and bowed her head deeply.

"Eh? Ah, um...?"

When Rebecca called out in confusion, Lisette squeezed out her voice.

"...Four years ago, the fact that you were kidnapped... was my fault."

"Pardon?"

As Rebecca was stunned by the unexpected story, Lisette began to speak haltingly.

The origin was Wendy's birthday party four years ago. It was decided that a dance party would be held, and Lisette, who was Christopher's fiancée at the time, was of course invited. On that occasion, through Christopher's kindness, several of Lisette's friends were also apparently invited.

"—Among those friends was a girl who was a distant relative of the Lionfall family."

"...Ah, ahh."

Hearing that far, Rebecca finally remembered. Indeed, when she was confined in the Lionfall warehouse, she felt Juliet had blurted out something like that.

While Rebecca recalled the past, Lisette's story continued.

Unfortunately, Lisette's friend knew Rebecca's face. She saw her working as a maid at the Caldwell house and apparently informed the Lionfall family immediately after the party ended. That became the trigger for everything.

After that, Rebecca was kidnapped by people from Lionfall and consequently went missing.

Christopher and Lisette grasped the details after Rebecca disappeared, during the interrogation of the Lionfall brother and sister.

"Therefore, the fact that you went through such a terrible experience... is my fault."

Lisette said with a grim face and bowed deeply again.

"—I am truly sorry."

Flustered, Rebecca opened her mouth.

"No, Lady Lisette didn't know, so you did nothing wrong! Or rather, originally, it was my fault for hiding my identity..."

Rebecca said this in a panic, but Lisette made no move to get up.

"Even so, it is an undeniable fact that I was the cause..."

To Lisette, whose voice sounded pained, Rebecca continued, flustered.

"Um, please really don't blame yourself. ...Umm, as you can see, I was saved... P-Please raise your head!"

Lisette was not at fault. It was true that Lisette was the trigger, but she knew nothing, and it was just a series of unfortunate events.

When Rebecca repeated her words many times, Lisette finally raised her head.

"I was truly sorry. I apologize from the bottom of my heart."

Lisette voiced her apology again, clenched her fists on her lap, and looked down with a gloomy expression. Then, she immediately returned her gaze to Rebecca.

"—If you are ever in trouble, Rebecca-san, please tell me immediately. If there is anything... anything I can do, I will do it."

She must feel a strong sense of responsibility, Rebecca thought. Just as Wendy said, she is a good person.

Although confused, Rebecca nodded.

"...Thank you very much... Um, but please, really don't blame yourself. It was just... bad luck."

When Rebecca said that, Lisette looked down again.

***

"Ugh—"

After the tea party with Lisette ended, Rebecca groaned while wiping the hallway window after returning to work.

"Ugh..."

"Rebecca, why have you been groaning 'ugh ugh' for a while now?"

Carrie, who was cleaning with her, asked with a frown.

"Could it be that you're frustrated because you can't reach the high parts of the window? It's fine, I'll wipe them for you."

"That's not it! No, well, there's that too, but..."

Pouting, Rebecca handed the cloth for wiping windows to Carrie.

"Sorry. Please take care of the high places..."

"Roger. You should go take a break soon. You look pale today somehow."

"...Thank you very much."

Rebecca bowed to Carrie, let out a light sigh, and trudged toward the servants' break room.

"...What a mess."

Lisette's gloomy expression wouldn't leave her mind. She felt something murky accumulating in her chest.

"...Ugh."

It was when Rebecca was groaning again while walking down the hallway.

"—I'm sorry, Wendy."

Christopher's voice was heard.

Rebecca stopped involuntarily and turned her face toward the direction of the voice. It was the direction of Wendy's room.

She hesitated for a moment but slowly advanced without making a sound. Approaching the hallway where Wendy's room was, she peeked out from the shadows. And her eyes widened.

Christopher was standing in front of Wendy's room.

"Wendy, please come out. Let's talk properly."

He was speaking to the door.

But no reply came from the other side.

"Wendy, before you return to school, let's talk properly. I want to apologize."

Christopher continued while knocking on the door.

"Please come out. I'm sorry. I'm truly reflecting on my actions—"

Christopher continued to call out, but as expected, Wendy didn't react at all. Not a voice, not even a single sound could be heard from the other side of the door.

Why was Wendy rejecting Christopher so much? What on earth happened between the two of them?

In the shadows, Rebecca tilted her head. She continued to watch quietly as Christopher knocked on the door.

Christopher, seemingly unaware that Rebecca was watching, spoke to the door again.

"About Rebecca, I truly feel sorry... So, let's talk one more time."

Suddenly hearing her own name from Christopher's mouth, Rebecca was startled.

—About me? Why?

Rebecca froze in dumbfoundment on the spot.

Christopher seemed to have given up on talking to the unresponsive Wendy, and walked away from the door with his shoulders slumped.

Rebecca glanced at the door to Wendy's room, hesitating for a moment. Then, she stepped out into the hallway as quietly as possible and chased after Christopher.

"Lord Christopher..."

When she called out in a whisper from behind, Christopher's feet stopped abruptly. He turned around and looked at Rebecca with a surprised face.

"Rebecca..."

"H-Hello. Um..."

Just as Rebecca was about to continue, Christopher opened his mouth with an awkward expression.

"—Could it be, you heard that just now?"

To that question, Rebecca nodded in confusion.

"Yes. ...I apologize."

When Rebecca bowed her head, Christopher looked away from Rebecca with a troubled face.

"Um... about me...?"

When Rebecca asked fearfully, Christopher bit his lip hard, then opened his mouth.

"—Shall we talk a little, Rebecca?"

Looking into Rebecca's eyes, Christopher broached the subject.

"Is work okay right now? Could you come to my study?"

"Y-Yes."

When Rebecca nodded, Christopher nodded back. He began walking down the hallway again. Rebecca hurriedly followed Christopher. They headed to Christopher's study, which she had visited before.

When they entered Christopher's study, Reed was organizing documents. Seeing Rebecca enter the study, he moved his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

"Reed, stop work for a while. Tea, please."

"Certainly."

Ordered by Christopher, Reed quickly left the study.

"Sit here."

"Ah, yes."

Told so by Christopher, Rebecca hurriedly sat down on the sofa. Christopher sat on the sofa facing her.

"—Rebecca, is your current work going well?"

"Ah, yes. Thanks to everyone, so far..."

"If you have any trouble, tell me immediately."

While the two exchanged simple conversation, Reed brought the tea. He quickly and politely set the tea in front of Christopher and Rebecca. She thought he would stay, but Reed bowed and left.

"..."

"..."

Conversation cut off, and a deep silence spread through the study. As Rebecca was bewildered by the situation, Christopher finally opened his mouth.

"—Rebecca."

"Y-Yes!"

When Rebecca answered loudly, Christopher pressed his lips together tightly as if at a loss for words for a moment. Then, as if making up his mind, he opened his mouth.

"...I... must apologize to you."

At those words, Rebecca blinked blankly.

"Yes?"

Christopher continued while looking straight at Rebecca.

"...Since you came back, you've been wondering, haven't you? ...About me... and my sister."

At those words, Rebecca nodded slightly, though surprised.

Christopher closed his eyes and squeezed out his voice as if holding his head.

"—It's my fault. Everything is my fault."

While confused by his appearance, Rebecca spoke to Christopher.

"What happened?"

"..."

Christopher closed his eyes silently. Silence fell again.

"...Lord Christopher?"

When Rebecca called out, Christopher finally opened his eyes.

"Actually, I should have told you sooner..."

And he began to speak bit by bit.

"—After the incident four years ago... you went missing... Naturally, we conducted a large-scale search. We searched every corner of the scene where you disappeared, questioned your family... but there were no clues. We just couldn't find you..."

Rebecca stiffened her face.

That was natural. At that time, Rebecca was sleeping in the other dimension where Rieserago lived.

"Still, we kept searching for you. We hired many people, searched various places... I was worried about you, and more than anyone, Wendy was anxious about your safety. But..."

Christopher stopped speaking there. Then, clenching his fist, he spoke again.

"Even after searching for more than two years, there were no clues... there was nothing more we could do... So... I finally made a decision."

Christopher looked straight into Rebecca's eyes.

"I decided to... call off the search for you."

At those words, Rebecca gasped.

"...Wendy kept waiting for you even after you disappeared. She said you would definitely come back. But... I couldn't believe that. Since there were no clues after searching this much... I thought you had either died somewhere or disappeared of your own will... So, I gave up."

Christopher added in a small voice.

"—Wendy was truly very worried about you... she believed you would return. So, calling off the search was painful. But Wendy, worrying about you too much, was becoming darker and darker. She became increasingly reclusive, avoided others, refused to go outside... Even though she enrolled in school, she didn't make friends and always had a gloomy face. I was worried about that..."

At those words, Rebecca's chest hurt. Watching Rebecca frown involuntarily, Christopher continued his story.

"Around the time I decided to call off the search... about a year ago, I made Wendy participate in a certain party. I knew she wasn't good with such places, but I wanted her to look outward even a little... I thought if it was a party where various people gathered, she might become close with children of the same age. So, I almost forcibly took her to the party. ...The result was a disastrous failure. Wendy barely conversed with anyone at the party. I introduced several noble acquaintances, but the conversation didn't flow at all..."

Christopher lightly placed his hand on his forehead with a grim face, perhaps recalling that time.

"After returning to the mansion, Wendy came to my room and pleaded with me to stop dragging her to such events. But I replied that she should look more towards the outside world... and after that, it turned into a huge fight. At that time, in the momentum of the conversation... I told her about calling off the search for you. Naturally, Wendy was violently shaken and distraught. She cried unbelievably, got angry, and cursed me thoroughly.

"In the end, Lisette also said various things, and it was decided to continue the search. We switched to a small-scale search, but... Wendy seemed dissatisfied even with that. ...Wendy hated me for trying to call off the search and was terribly disappointed. It was since then. That Wendy stopped exchanging words with me... Far from it, she came to dislike even meeting my eyes. To my sister... I am a traitor."

Christopher bowed deeply toward Rebecca.

"I am sorry, Rebecca. I gave up. I abandoned you. Foolishly, I thought about calling off the search... I'm sorry... Truly, truly, I'm sorry..."

Surprised by his appearance, Rebecca hurriedly opened her mouth.

"L-Lord Christopher, please raise your head!!"

Still, Christopher didn't move. With his head bowed, he continued.

"I did something terrible to you. ...Actually, I should have apologized as soon as you came back. But thinking that if you heard this, you might feel responsible... I hesitated..."

Rebecca gasped again.

Christopher's shoulders were trembling faintly.

"No, that's wrong. It's wrong. Actually... I was afraid of being blamed by you. I was afraid of being condemned... Everything is caused by my weakness."

"Lord Christopher..."

"I'm sorry, Rebecca. Truly, I'm sorry..."

Christopher repeated his apology with a tearful voice. Rebecca could only watch him in a daze.

***

Minutes later, when Christopher finally raised his head, tears were welling up in his eyes.

"...Rebecca, you're disappointed too, aren't you? Do you despise me?"

At those words, Rebecca quietly shook her head.

"No. You are not at fault, Lord Christopher. ...I think it is natural to make that judgment."

When Rebecca said so fearfully, Christopher shook his head.

"No. I did something I should absolutely never have done. I did something unforgivable. I can't take it back anymore. This is my sin."

Saying that, Christopher slowly approached Rebecca and knelt on the spot.

"Rebecca, truly, I was wrong."

"...Lord Christopher."

"I won't ask you to forgive me. But... let me confess. I will make any atonement. If you wish, I will do anything. ...I swear. This time, I will never betray you again... I am truly sorry."

"..."

Rebecca quietly looked down.

***

Immediately after leaving Christopher's room, Rebecca headed to Wendy's room.

"Milady, it's me."

When she called out while knocking on the door, a voice returned immediately.

"Come in."

When Rebecca opened the door and entered, Wendy was sitting on the bed hugging her knees.

"Milady..."

When Rebecca approached calling her, Wendy tilted her head.

"Becca, what's wrong? You're working, aren't you? Did you want to see me?"

"...Yes."

When Rebecca nodded honestly, Wendy smiled happily.

"May I come by your side?"

When Rebecca asked, Wendy nodded immediately.

"Yeah."

As Rebecca wiggled onto the bed, Wendy relaxed her legs and spoke.

"Want to play together? Or shall we eat sweets?"

To such a Wendy, Rebecca spoke with a little hesitation.

"—I spoke with Lord Christopher."

Wendy's face froze as if iced over.

Silence fell for a moment, but Wendy spoke immediately.

"...I see."

"Milady."

Rebecca bowed her head slowly.

"I am sorry. ...Everything is my responsibility."

"Wrong!"

Wendy let out a sharp voice. Rebecca's shoulders jumped.

"Wrong! Completely wrong!!"

Wendy continued as if screaming.

"Becca did nothing wrong!! The ones who are bad are the people who kidnapped Becca, and Brother!!"

For the first time in a while, the word "Brother" popped out from Wendy. Rebecca clenched her fists and continued.

"No. I am in the wrong. Everything is my fault."

"I'm telling you, that's wrong!!"

"...I shouldn't have kept running away. I should have discussed things properly with my family home... my family, and settled things. At least, if I had properly revealed my identity and formally cut ties with my family... then... maybe it wouldn't have resulted in this."

She shouldn't have run away. She shouldn't have worked here while keeping secrets. Because of her, Christopher, Wendy, and Lisette were all suffering. To think that because she carelessly neglected the problem, it ended up like this.

This is the result of turning a blind eye until now. She felt like she was paying the price all at once.

Wendy raised her voice angrily.

"That person abandoned you!!"

"That's not true, Milady..."

"It's not untrue at all...! That person betrayed us. None other than you!! Because... because it's you? The one who disappeared was you, Becca!! Seven years ago, Becca saved my life!! If Becca hadn't been there, I would have died... You are my lifesaver... yet that person easily abandoned you...! He gave up so simply!! How could he do something so cruel... Truly, I can't believe it..."

"Milady..."

"...I can't forgive him, absolutely can't forgive him, Becca..."

Wendy buried her face in the bed and began to sob.

"Ugh... waaaah... ugh, uuu..."

"Milady..."

Flustered, Rebecca hugged Wendy.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Milady..."

"Uuu... uuu... gh..."

Wendy continued to shed tears in Rebecca's arms for a long time.

***

*Author's Note*

This turned out to be a slightly dark chapter.

Updates are irregular, but I hope you continue to support the series.